Wednesday, April 25, 2018

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entity:Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Antonio, TexasAviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfhttp://registry.faa.gov/N12377Location: Kingsville, TXAccident Number: CEN18FA147Date & Time: 04/25/2018, 1230 CDTRegistration: N12377Aircraft: NORTH AMERICAN SNJ 5Injuries: 2 FatalFlight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal On April 25, 2018, about 1230 central daylight time, a North American SNJ-5 airplane, N12377, impacted terrain following a loss of control during initial climb after takeoff from runway 13R (8,000 ft. by 200 ft.) at Kingsville Naval Air Station (NQI), Kingsville, Texas. The pilot and pilot rated passenger were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and the intended destination has not been confirmed.Witnesses reported that the airplane took off on runway 13R and had requested a right hand teardrop turn for a departure toward the north. The witnesses reported seeing the airplane in a steep right bank with some witnesses reporting that the bank angle exceeded 90 degrees of bank. The airplane descended nose low and the right bank angle lessened before the airplane struck the ground.The initial impact point was located between runway 17R/35L and taxiway B, and just south of the intersection of taxiway B and taxiway E. Both wings separated with the right wing coming to rest at the east edge of the pavement for taxiway B. The fuselage came to rest on its right side about 30 feet west of the right wing. The left wing came to rest about 100 feet further west. The airplane's engine separated from the fuselage and the supercharger section of the engine separated from the cylinder section. Control system continuity from the elevator and rudder was confirmed from the surfaces forward to their respective cockpit controls. The aileron control system had numerous cable breaks, however, each identified cable break was consistent with overload failure of the cables. The removable rear cockpit control stick was found lying on the ramp adjacent to the airplane. Examination could not confirm if the stick had been installed in its socket prior to impact. Aircraft and Owner/Operator InformationAircraft Manufacturer: NORTH AMERICANRegistration: N12377Model/Series: SNJ 5 5Aircraft Category: AirplaneAmateur Built: NoOperator: On fileOperating Certificate(s) Held: NoneMeteorological Information and Flight PlanConditions at Accident Site: Visual ConditionsCondition of Light: DayObservation Facility, Elevation: NQI, 50 ft mslObservation Time: 1232 CDTDistance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical MilesTemperature/Dew Point: 31°C / 13°CLowest Cloud Condition: Few / 3000 ft aglWind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 16 knots/ 23 knots, 120°Lowest Ceiling: NoneVisibility: 10 MilesAltimeter Setting: 30.01 inches HgType of Flight Plan Filed: NoneDeparture Point: Kingsville, TX (NQI)Destination: Dallas, TXWreckage and Impact InformationCrew Injuries: 1 FatalAircraft Damage: SubstantialPassenger Injuries: 1 FatalAircraft Fire: On-GroundGround Injuries: N/AAircraft Explosion: On-GroundTotal Injuries: 2 FatalLatitude, Longitude: 27.503889, -97.812222

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.

Naval Air Station Kingsville Fire and Emergency Services personnel spray foam onto the wreckage of a civilian-owned and operated North American SNJ-5 (AT-6D) Texan, N12377, that crashed shortly after takeoff from the air station April 25, 2018. Both the pilot and passenger were killed in the crash.

Steve DeWolf’s passion for aviation is just a part of what makes him such an interesting neighbor. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Charles Skoda was one of two men killed when the privately owned airplane they were in crashed shortly after takeoff from NAS Kingsville. Missouri State Senator Doug Libla said that Skoda was a former Navy fighter pilot and government relations employee. “He was widely known and a friend to many in the Missouri State Capitol for several years,” said Libla.

UPDATE: Forest Hills neighbor Steve DeWolf died April 25, 2018, in a plane crash, according to his wife, Tammy DeWolf. The civil lawyer, wind energy pioneer and author was flying his T-6 Texan, one of two World War 2-era planes that he owned. He and a passenger died when the plane crashed at Naval Air Station Kingsville shortly after takeoff Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m., according to the Caller Times. The story says the plane caught fire shortly after takeoff. In addition to his wife, DeWolf is survived by his son, Jake DeWolf. Memorial details are pending. This article about DeWolf appears in the May issue of the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate, which went to press before news of his death.When Steve DeWolf isn’t jogging through his Forest Hills neighborhood, he’s probably flying over it in one of his vintage planes.The civil lawyer, author and wind energy pioneer owns a PT-17 Stearman that was built in 1943 and a T-6 Texan built in 1942. His father was a colonel in the Air Force, and DeWolf attended the United States Naval Academy, intent on flying carrier-based jets. But his vision wasn’t good enough. After graduation, he went to law school and earned a pilot’s license in 1985. After a girlfriend broke up with him in 1991, he says he thought, “F it, I’m just going to spend $80,000 and go buy an old open cockpit biplane.”That was the Stearman. “I’ve loved it ever since,” he says.DeWolf says he tries to fly his planes at least once a week. His home base is the Dallas Executive Airport, formerly Redbird Airport. “My dad said that you have to fly a lot to be safe. I tell my son, Jake, the same thing.”Why planes from that era? “It goes back to my dad,” DeWolf says. “It’s very pure flying. It’s black or white. You can either fly the numbers or you can’t. Can you fly it in a certain direction, can you keep it stable, can you land well? In law, there’s gray and nuances.”How does he feel when he’s up there? “Like a million bucks,” he says.DeWolf has had close calls, including seeing lightning below him while flying over Seguin from the Rio Grande Valley and encountering fog so dense he was forced to fly according to the air traffic controller’s signals. Years ago, in the Stearman, an oil line broke. DeWolf was close to Lancaster and tried to land. People were saying, “You’re streaming oil.” He landed and had the shakes. “Some tall, thin guy who was in charge of the airport came out and said, ‘Well, I’d let you use the restroom, but I bet you done already used it.’“Fortunately, I hadn’t.”DeWolf’s law office on the 14th floor of a North Central Expressway building feels like working in the clouds. He sits at a long, cluttered table in a room surrounded by windows. The office is decorated with framed illustrations of him in court, a photo of him in his plane flying over opening day of the Rangers in 2014, a 1942 Saturday Evening Post cover of his father in uniform and his son’s Lego wind farm project.Rocks collected from his travels hold down pages of law cases and maps of his wind farm projects. “A rock for everything I have to do,” he says. “I like rocks. Every time I go someplace, I get them.”In the early 2000s, he was sitting on a beach and penning an editorial for The Dallas Morning News about the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He thought about an in-law in Minnesota who was a progressive farmer researching windmills.“I thought, ‘Texas… we have a lot of land, we ought to be able to do that.’ I had no idea what I was doing.” He went to TXU Energy and said, “I’d like to build a wind farm.” He asked his wife, Tammy, to give him $25,000 to learn the business. She was OK with it, so he went to West Texas A&M University and studied with the experts. He’s been investing in wind farms ever since.He also wrote a book. “Dead Stick” is about a Texas civil trial lawyer, “a gritty street-wise” character investigating the death of his brother in Iraq. The main character is Jake, named after DeWolf’s son, and the book’s cover photo is DeWolf in his plane. “Dead Stick” is published by Stephen F. Austin University Press. A producer in Los Angeles has optioned the book to be a movie, and a writer in New York is working on the screenplay.DeWolf is at work on a sequel. In addition, he writes “The Moderate Minute” column for the Mount Vernon Optic Herald in Franklin County, where he owns a lake house. He’s also on the board of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum.In the meantime, son Jake is studying at Oklahoma State University, learning to be a commercial airline pilot.“Flying is not without dangers, and flying these old planes? It’s more dangerous,” DeWolf says. “But crossing the street is dangerous. I do my best to make sure that the planes are well maintained. Like I told Jake, ‘You don’t fly into bad weather. You try and make good judgments.’ At some point, 10 to 15 years from now, I may say, ‘I think I’ve been flying long enough.”Story, video, photo gallery ➤ https://lakewood.advocatemag.com

Jake (left) and his father Steven DeWolf. Steven was killed when the airplane he was flying crashed shortly after takeoff from NAS Kingsville.

Two men killed in a plane crash at Naval Air Station Kingsville yesterday have been identified.Steven DeWolf and Charles Skoda were killed yesterday when the North American SNJ-5 (AT-6D) Texan they were flying in crashed shortly after takeoff from the air station.In a message sent to KRIS 6 News, DeWolf’s son Jake said “He’s the best damn father in the whole world. He died doing what he loved which was flying that Yellow T-6 Texan."In an online statement, Missouri State Senator Doug Libla said that Skoda was a former Navy fighter pilot and government relations employee.“He was widely known and a friend to many in the Missouri State Capitol for several years,” said Libla.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.kristv.com

Photo of aircraft involved in Naval Air Station-Kingsville crash.

Photo date April 24, 2018

KINGSVILLE — Two people were killed when a civilian-owned plane crashed at Naval Air Station Kingsville shortly after takeoff Wednesday afternoon.The North American SNJ-5 (AT-6D) Texan crashed just after 12:30 p.m., said Kevin Clarke, a public affairs officer for the base.The plane caught fire and was put out by naval emergency personnel, Clarke said in a video posted on the naval base's Facebook page. The pilot and one passenger had been visiting an employee of the base and had just taken off when the mishap occurred, Clarke said. Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were on the way to conduct an investigation into the crash, Clarke said in the video.The two people were taken to a nearby funeral home, he said in the video. Their identities were not released Wednesday, pending notification of family.Clarke said no naval aviators were involved and there was no damage to the airfield’s runways or equipment. Naval Air Station Kingsville is one of 15 military installations in Texas, and is the workplace of 1,650 people. About 200 flight students train there, along with roughly 150 flight instructors.

A civilian owned and operated vintage warbird aircraft crashed shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday near the lower gate of Naval Air Station-Kingsville.The Kleberg County Sheriff's Department confirmed that the pilot and one passenger died in the crash. NAS officials said the pilot and one passenger had been visiting an employee on base. They had just taken off from the airfield when it the mishap occurred.A witness told 3News that it looked like the pilot lost control and rolled backward in the direction of the hangars. They said they couldn't tell if it was a mechanical failure or the wind, which was pretty strong at the time, but they did hear what sounded like the pilot hitting the throttle before an explosion.Training Air Wing 2 was sent to secure the scene. NAS officials said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate as is standard procedure when plane crashes are involved. NAS officials said no naval aviators were involved and there was no damage to the runways or equipment.Story and video ➤ http://www.kiiitv.com

Two people were killed when a civilian-owned and operated vintage warbird aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Naval Air Station Kingsville.According to the base, the pilot and one passenger had been visiting an employee of the base and had just taken off when the crash occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m.The identities of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin, base officials say.The base says no Naval aviators were involved and there was no damage to the airfield runways or equipment. Story and video ➤ http://www.kristv.com

The Wall Street JournalBy Doug CameronUpdated April 25, 2018 1:23 p.m. ETBoeing Company aims to have a new facility in China ready to complete some of its 737 jets by the end of this year, a sign that the aerospace giant is taking trade tensions in stride.Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said Wednesday that construction is under way on a finishing center near Shanghai that Boeing has said it needs to compete with rival Airbus SE, which already builds jets in China.His comments on a post-earnings call came as Boeing’s first quarter results soared past analysts’ expectations, and as the company boosted its full-year guidance for profits and operating cash flow. The new guidance signals Boeing is working through challenges in the broader aerospace supply chain related to engines and other plane parts as it and Airbus—which reports Friday—boost jetliner production.The results also suggest that Boeing’s business hasn’t been hurt by trade-related rhetoric between officials in the U.S. and China. Mr. Muilenburg said Boeing hadn’t been affected by to-and-fro tariff proposals from the U.S. and China.China accounts for a fifth of Boeing’s jetliner deliveries. The new facility to install seats and other fittings such as in-flight entertainment systems had drawn scrutiny from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who cited it as an example of U.S. jobs being moved overseas.Mr. Muilenburg has said such overseas facilities aren’t a direct threat to the U.S. jobs, and will help protect and expand domestic employment. He said the effort is an essential part of doing business in China.The aerospace company will continue assembling 737s at its plant near Seattle but send some planes to China for completion at the new plant, a joint venture with the state-controlled Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd.Mr. Muilenburg also said on Wednesday that Boeing is following guidance from U.S. officials on potential airplane sales to carriers in Iran. He said planned deliveries of jets had been deferred beyond 2018 as officials in Iran, the U.S. and Europe debate sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear programPotential sales to Iran aren’t in Boeing’s order book, which has swelled to more than 5,800 jets worth $415 billion.First-quarter profits beat expectations as Boeing continued to boost productivity and aimed to raise margins to the midteen range from around 11%. The company didn’t book another charge on its delayed military refueling tanker program, though it said costs had increased, but added its defense and services units contributed to the rise in earnings.Boeing said its profit rose to $2.48 billion in the quarter from $1.58 billion a year earlier, with per-share earnings up to $4.15 from $2.54. Stripping out pension costs, profit of $3.64 a share was well ahead of the $2.58 analyst consensus.The company boosted its guidance for full-year profit by 50 cents a share to a range of $14.30 to $14.50, and added $500 million to its forecast for operating cash flow, with a new top end of $15.5 billion.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.wsj.com

A New York doctor and former television sportscaster landed a small airplane with its landing gear retracted in Sussex County in January, leading to a fire that destroyed the plane, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Marvell Scott and a passenger escaped after the Cessna 210D Centurion went up in flames January 21 at Sussex Airport in Wantage, the NTSB said in a report.Scott, 45, had just obtained his private pilot license and had about 150 hours of flying time, according to the NTSB.After the crash, Scott told air-safety investigators he "thought he put the gear down but realized that he probably recycled the gear up" while handling another control next to it, according to a report.There was nothing mechanically wrong with the plane.As they landed, the tail hit first and the nose hit the landing strip hard. They skidded to a stop and Scott and an unidentified passenger got out as the plane caught fire.Scott told the investigator he was surprised at how quickly the plane became engulfed in flames."He acknowledged his wounded pride but was glad nobody got hurt," the NTSB report said.

Marvell Scott (credit: Facebook)

Public records show Scott has addresses in Sparta and New York City. He could not immediately be reached for comment at his sports medicine practice in Manhattan.The medical doctor and former journalist left his job with WABC-TV in New York after he was charged with the second-degree rape of a 14-year-old runaway.The victim had been coerced into prostitution by an adult male, according to reports.Scott pleaded guilty to misdemeanor injuring the welfare of a child, received 20 days of community service and had his record cleared, reports said. Public records show Scott was reprimanded over the allegations but did not lose his medical license.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.nj.com

National Transportation Safety Board - Aviation Accident Final ReportLocation: SUSSEX, NJAccident Number: GAA18CA115Date & Time: 01/21/2018, 0230 ESTRegistration: N884KMAircraft: CESSNA 210Aircraft Damage: DestroyedDefining Event: Landing gear not configuredInjuries: 2 NoneFlight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal Analysis The pilot of the retractable-landing-gear-equipped airplane reported that, during approach, the green landing gear extended light was illuminated. He further reported that "it [was] possible that [he] inadvertently cycled the landing gear back to a gear up position." The airplane landed gear up and was destroyed by postaccident fire.During a telephone interview with a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, the pilot reported that the landing gear handle and the trim wheel were next to each other, and it is probable that, when operating the trim wheel, he moved the landing gear handle. He added that that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.Probable Cause and FindingsThe National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:The pilot's inadvertent landing gear retraction during approach. FindingsAircraftGear extension and retract sys - Unintentional use/operation (Cause)Personnel issuesIncorrect action performance - Pilot (Cause)Factual InformationHistory of FlightLandingLanding gear not configured (Defining event)Fire/smoke (non-impact)

The pilot of a small plane with engine trouble used a stretch of Calgary road as a runway early Wednesday, landing on 36th Street just south of 16th Avenue N.E. No injuries were reported. The Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain was inbound to Calgary International Airport with six people aboard just after 5:30 a.m. MT when engine trouble forced the pilot to land on the roadway.Acting District Chief Jason Graham of the Calgary Fire Department said the pilot did "an amazing job" to land the plane safely.Graham said a crane will be brought in from the airport to lift the plane onto a flatbed truck. Police said it had minor damage.The plane, registered to Super T Aviation, left Medicine Hat, Alta., about 4:45 a.m. and was headed to Calgary, a company official said.Owner Terri Super said the pilot has been with the company for "several years" and has more than 20 years of flight experience. Jarrett Stobbe had just left the C-Train and was walking to work when he saw the plane about 10 metres overhead. "I heard this loud noise and looked up, and it come right over my head," he said. "It was coming in at kind of an angle and clipped that light post, then landed. The pilot did a heck of a job to get it down like that."Another witness, Michael Nadon, said he wasn't sure what he was seeing was real.Shaken but unhurt"I had to do a double take, definitely, this early in the morning," he said. "It looked like it [the plane] was approaching these businesses here, but it veered off just enough and that's when it clipped the light post."Nadon spoke to people on board who said they were shaken but unhurt."They were mentioning that the plane lost its fuel pump. The female pilot, she landed the plane absolutely amazingly, given the circumstances."It was expected the street would remain closed for several hours.The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been called in to investigate.Story and video ➤ http://www.cbc.ca